Xmas, love it or leave it??

by DATA-DOG 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  jhine

  l entirely agree about the commercialism of Christmas and l know that it's one of the things that JWs bang on about . What they miss and what has been picked up on here is that most of the people who celebrate Christmas aren't in the least bit religious , it's just and excuse for a p--s up and a new dress . It should be about remembering the coming into the world of the Christ Child . No need for expensive presents and getting into debt to show off to people you probably don't even like .

  lf you can't say to someone " l can't afford to spend much so here is small gift that comes with love " and expect them to understand then they ain't your friends .

  Jan
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  dozy

  # Leave it for me. I've never really got into it either. I'm not especially materialistic so the concept of buying overpriced stuff for other people or receiving things doesn't really appeal , though I do get a few things for the kids and it is a good opportunity to touch base with family and business colleagues etc on a kind of "end of year" basis.
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  Onager

  I can't say that I love it as such, but I don't hate it either. It's a bit of cheer in a grey month and I get to see the family. Having said that I went to my 3 year old's nativity play yesterday and it made me distinctly uncomfortable. Seeing all those little faces squeaking out "Jesus is born, we love you Jesus...". I comforted myself with the thought , though, that the vast majority of the population of the UK goes through exactly the same sort of thing growing up but we're still a happily godless nation for the most part.
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  dubstepped

  We love it. There are gifts, sure, but that's not the focus. The tree is cool and has new memories on it as we go on in our new life, the people we will hang out with are fun, there are Christmas cookie exchanges and white elephant games and people are generally pretty happy unless their focus is on material things. You don't have to buy into the commercialism and can make it what you want. We don't have old attachments but we decided to have fun decorations and good times and to appreciate our freedom and what we've got.
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  truth_b_known

  I love Christmas.

  I buy my 2 boys a couple gifts each, my wife a gift, and 1 or 2 close friends. That's it.

  Anything else is just a tree in the house and a lunch or two with co-workers. Maybe a happy hour after work one day.

  Just having a tree in the house and watching my boys open their gifts is all I need to enjoy the season.
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  just fine

  I love it - but the focus isn’t on presents. Most adults in our circle of friends don’t exchange presents. We buy gifts for my great nieces and nephews, send money to my nieces and nephews, but there isn’t any pressure to do so. We do not go into debt. I tell my nieces and nephews to just send us pictures instead of gifts.

  I love the tree and having ornaments that have memories attached to them. Christmas parties with silly games and ugly sweaters are also fun.

  Sometimes my husband and I exchange presents, but most of the time we buy something bigger for us both, like a trip or furniture or something.

  We don’t allow Christmas to become a crazy stressful holiday.
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  LongHairGal

  JUST FINE:

  I agree that the focus isn’t on presents either and at the moment I’m not exchanging any with anybody.

  There is religious type Christmas, commercialized Christmas, secular Currier and Ives warm and homey Christmas and there is tacky, ugly decorations type Christmas. Pick the one you want in your head and ignore the rest.

  I think some of the ex-JWs who weren’t raised with Christmas got the wrong idea that they are obliged to give presents. I was raised Catholic and had Christmas galore and it was just parents who gave us gifts as children. Later on in life when I moved out they sent me a card with a check.

  Christmas now for me is about lights, color, aromas of food and getting together with family friends. I like the store decorations and Christmas music I hear around me! 🎄
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  WTWizard

  There is no rule that you must do something you do not enjoy. And, if you believe that jesus is nothing but the archetype of the perfect slave, you may not enjoy the church theme. That is you? Just don't do the church part, but do other parts. You might also cut back on shopping for those you do not care about, since if you spend money on negative value, you are going to regret it.

  Gifting and partying should be done responsibly. Gift within or below your means, not above--and you will not get into debt doing it. Party within or below your means, also. I give a Bah! Humbug! to drink driving--you do not want to spend Christmas in a jail cell after killing a beautiful family because you chose to drink and drive. Going beyond your means simply puts too much stress on you, plus it wastes time and money that you should be spending on things you enjoy or paying down debt.
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  ShirleyW

  Growing up as a JW, my father was a UBM, so I grew up celebrating the holidays since the wives with UBMs were told to fix the holiday meal for their mate. So we went to friends and relatives for Thanksgiving and Xmas and sometimes we had the meal at our house. That lasted until around the teenage years, when everyone's houses we used to go to, there kids were grown and out the house and they didn't really go all out anymore. So from teen years until I moved out of my parents house Xmas was really no big deal to me.

  After I moved out I started celebrating again. I also go into the habit of watching Midnight Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral on TV here in NYC every year, don't know how that happened, but I do enjoy watching it. This Xmas I'll be preparing a Roast Duck and all the trimmings. I really don't feel like going to anyone's house, although a for a few years I have, but I'd rather just cook the holiday meals and stay home and enjoy.